Reviews

I'm delighted to report that I have recently published the My DDR T-Shirt Reviews page.

If you've seen the film and would like to write a review simply go to www.myddrtshirt.co.uk/reviews.htm - you don't have to join or register and you can write whatever you want - within reason, of course.

In gathering reviews, I'm hoping to gain an insight into what worked with my film and what didn't. I also want to provide somewhere for prospective DVD buyers to read about my film from people other than me. After all, I'm not sure if I would buy a DVD from an amateur filmmaker.

Anyway, go on. Write a review and tell us what you think...

Deine Geschicte...

It's taking a very long time but I'm still working on a My DDR T-Shirt trailer. I'm also going to post some short downloadable excerpts. In the meantime, I've been contacted by a Berlin-based project called Deine Geschichte (Your Memories, in English).

Their web-based project aims to gather information, personal accounts and memories of life in East Germany. They found out about My DDR T-Shirt and asked to post some clips on their site.

So, you can now view some very short clips from My DDR T-Shirt. Just visit the My DDR T-Shirt article page.

Please note, the whole site is in German, but the clips from the film are in English or subtitled in English.

Enjoy!

Enough already!

I'm glad to report that my suspended eBay account has been reinstated - with an apology from eBay. However, eBay still refuse to answer some crucial questions and ignore my requests to re-set my 'failing' user status.

So, given that I fully expect further problems with eBay, I've decided to stop reporting these problems in my updates. They (eBay) seem to be staggeringly arrogant and infuriating but they make very boring updates.

From now on, if you'd like to buy my DVD (and I'd be very grateful if you did), simply visit the My DDR T-Shirt website and take a look at the shop page. If eBay sales are available you can find them there, if they're not just try one of the alternatives.

Thanks.

Ignorance and idiocy at eBay

Well, my problems with eBay continue. In fact, they've just reached a new low. I've just learned that my my eBay account has been suspended. Why? Because they think that the My DDR T-Shirt DVDs I am selling are unauthorised copies and a breach of copyright.

I have now had 10 auctions or eBay sales removed by eBay. I have written to them several times to explain the situation but it seems that they are far too big and powerful to listen. I keep writing to them but they send generic and pre-written replies that clearly don't understand the problem. For the record, the DVDs I am selling are not unauthorised and they do not breach any of eBay's policies.

This eBay account suspension is an unjustified punishment of a legitimate seller. It's also a serious blow to the campaign to promote My DDR T-Shirt. The untouchable idiots at eBay are having a real impact on what I do and it is apalling, truly apalling, that they can act so unfairly.

If you were thinking of buying my DVD, simpy email me at "sales [at] ianhawkins.co.uk".

Lots to report...

Man! There's quite a bit to report this time. Things have been a little less hectic at home recently and I've used this time to tick a few things off the DDR To Do list. But first of all, I have to report some disappointing wrangling with eBay. Over the last few weeks they have removed several auctions for the My DDR T-Shirt DVD. I think it's seven in total. They still seem to think I'm selling counterfeit copies of someone else's film. They even wrote to all my DVD bidders and told them that the product was an 'unauthorised copy' and a 'breach of copyright'. I don't have any legal expertise but this must verge on libel.

I keep writing to them to explain, I keep re-listing the DVD but my account is running dangerously close to being suspended. Ideally, I'd like to take my custom elsewhere (eBay's customer service structure is immensely frustrating) but there just isn't another online market place to compare. And that's the truth...

Despite this, eBay sales are ongoing and going quite well (relatively speaking). I'm also getting some nice feedback from satisfied customers. The current eBay auction is getting close to the end. Maybe it's because eBay scared all my customers away but bidding is still at 99p. No other auction has done this so it may be a great opportunity to pick up the cheapest My DDR T-Shirt DVD so far. Unless eBay has suspended my account, you can always see the current auction from my eBay Shop.

Anyway, there are a few interesting irons in the fire. I don't want to jump the gun so apologies for the flaky details. I'll just tell you the news and report at a later date if anything comes to fruition.

1. I was contacted by a person who works at a large museum dedicated to the Cold War - he said there is a gap in their material about life in East Germany and my film just might fit. They may play an edited version of the film or stock the DVD in the museum shop.

2. One person offered two very interesting leads. Firstly, they run an online bookshop and may be interested in selling the DVD. Secondly, they have contacts with an independent arts organsation for Russian people living in the Northeast. This might lead to a screening at some point, somewhere.

3. A good friend is making initial contacts to explore the Leipzig screening reported last time. I love the idea of a German/Leipzig screening so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this one. In preparation, the transcription of the film has finally been completed and will (hopefully) be translated into German for use as subtitles.

4. I'm down to small, techy details now but we have now transferred all Hawkinsian websites to a new server to increase web space from 55mb to 2500mb.

Wow. The biggest My DDR update ever? Probably. Well done if you got this far!

Reasons to be cheerful

Well, well, well! I have some very good news...

My DDR T-Shirt has been accepted onto the programme of Salford Film Festival! The film will be screened at Salford Arts Theatre on Tuesday 18 November. This will only be the second public screening of My DDR T-Shirt and hopefully will lead to a bit of interest and other screenings elsewhere. So, huge thanks to the festival organisers for accepting the film.

After a quiet summer, this festival acceptance and very encouraging eBay sales make the oncoming winter feel quite positive. I can also report some very early discussions to arrange a screening in Leipzig - maybe some time in the first quarter of next year. These plans are still very much on the drawing board and far from confirmed. Of course, I'll keep this blog up to date with any developments.

See our eBay seller page to buy the DVD.

Rejection and acceptance...

Do you want the good news or the bad news?

Okay, bad news first:
Shortly after being rejected by Sheffield DocFest, I also received notification that My DDR T-Shirt had not been accepted by Leipzig Festival. This was always a long shot, but you always hope a little.

Now the good news:
I've just sold the first DVD of My DDR T-Shirt on eBay! I'd had difficulties with eBay de-listing the item because they thought I was trying to sell a bootlegged DVD. I could never get through to an eBay human so instead, I tinkered with the listing text and made it clear that the DVD was made, produced, written, directed, manufactured and sold by me.

I've just re-listed the DVD for a second auction so if you're interested, go to the eBay My DDR T-Shirt auction page now.

Hope springs a leak

Well, I'm just back from a holiday in Italy and finding it difficult to get into the swing of the old routine again. I thought I'd offer a quick update of the only little bit of news I have. Unfortunately, My DDR T-Shirt has not been accepted by Sheffield Documentary Film Festival (DocFest).

Although you never expect a film to be accepted anywhere, this rejection came as a bit of a disappointment. The theme of DocFest 2008 was regime change - this made all staff at Hawkinsian Productions hopeful that My DDR T-Shirt's obvious fit would come up trumps. But it wasn't to be so.

There are still three other film festival irons in the fire and we hope something will come of these.

In the meantime, I've had some nice feedback from independent filmmaker/writer/author, Micheal W. Dean. He "loved the flick" and offered his support. Micheal's book, $30 Film School, really helped me make a start with film making, and is essentially the model I used to make My DDR T-Shirt. Now (after being rejected by DocFest), maybe it's a good time to re-read sections and get some ideas.

Long overdue, little progress

Here's an update on all things My DDR T-Shirt.

Film Festivals: As reported earlier, submitted to Leipzig, Sheffield and Salford - not heard anything back yet. Will shortly submit to Berwick-upon-Tweed and keep an eye on any other suitables. The whole film festival is an odd thing. You send things off and don't hear anything again. But then you only need to feature in one of them to make it worth your while.

Translation: Still working with Juan on a Spanish translation. He just needs the full transcription and I'm struggling for time to do this at the moment.

Other issues: I tried to sell full retail DVDs of My DDR T-Shirt on eBay as a trial. Strangely, eBay removed it from public sale on the grounds that it breached copyright and was an unauthorised copy. I wrote to tell them that I am the director, producer and copyright owner but this hasn't made any difference. As a result, I'm falling back on the idea to make DVDs available for sale on www.myddrtshirt.co.uk. I don't expect to make a profit on the exercise so will price DVDs at around the £5 mark (excl P&P).

Restricted progress...

Well, a number of things have conspired to make things a little unsettled recently. Mainly, I've moved home and jobs. This has meant no broadband access at home so Hawkinsian Productions have been a little restricted since the highs of the Fuel Café screening on the 17th.

It's been very frustrating but I thought I'd update what I can...

1. I submitted My DDR T-Shirt to Sheffield DocFest (film festival). Their theme this year is 'regime change' so fingers crossed.
2. A few minutes ago, I submitted My DDR T-Shirt to the Leipzig International Film Festival. This is a very competitive festival and it is unlikely my home-made film will make it, but we're keeping our fingers crossed.
3. I'm always on the look out for suitable venues for public screenings - feel free to suggest any ideas.
4. Plans are being drawn up to include a 'Shop' section on www.myddrtshirt.co.uk. We hope to make My DDR T-Shirt available as a retail DVD soon.
5. I had a very kind response from a South American dude (living in the Netherlands) offering to write Spanish subtitles. This is still a work in progress but whatever happens, I'm very grateful for his interest.

I think that's all.

A night to remember...

Tuesday 17th June, 2008 was a very, very special night. This was the night that My DDR T-Shirt received its first ever public screening - and what a resounding success!

In Fuel (a café bar in Withington) around 60 people gathered to watch the film. Admittedly, many of these were friends - I invited almost everyone I knew. However, lots of people I didn't know also turned up because they had heard about the screening somewhere and were interested in the subject. How cool is that?

Making My DDR T-Shirt was a pretty solitary affair. Obviously, filming the interviews wasn't but the long process of editing was. As the film played, I sat and watched the audience. They sat (or stood) and stared at the ironed duvet cover that doubled as a screen and seemed totally engaged with the subject. They watched like they would a proper film in a proper cinema. It is hard to describe how enormously rewarding this was.

At the rolling of the credits, they even applauded.

The posts of this blog serve as a record (of sorts) for all the ups and downs of the My DDR T-Shirt project. It may not be the most enthralling subject to read about but every setback and delay is listed here. It's a pleasure to report such a fantastic highlight.

Massive, heartfelt thanks to everyone who came along.

Poster from the big night.

Q&A session

Free Screening!

Yes, one of my New Year's resolutions looks set to happen.

My DDR T-Shirt will receive its first ever public screening on Tuesday 17th June, 2008. It'll take place in a bar called Fuel in Withington, Manchester.

A dedicated email notification has been sent to a select list (you can view it here if you like). A poster campaign is also underway and will be visible in suitable places throughout Manchester.

It's free so come along if you can.

That's it!

New website launched

A re-design of the My DDR T-Shirt website is now live.

Now that the film is finished, it is hoped that the new site will provide an improved platform for the busy months of activity ahead.

The new site will also eventually feature feedback forms and maybe a forum.

Nods so far...

So, discs are flying out left, right and centre! Well, almost. I've sent preview DVDs to all the interviewees and a couple of friends and family.

So far, feedback has been generally very positive. More importantly, I've had replies from two interviewees, Johnny Tarver and Ian Sanders. Both have stated that they have no objection to the way they have been represented and the way I have used their words and opinions in the film.

This has always been important to me. I don't mind if people dislike the film, or the way it expresses my feelings, but I'd hate to people to feel I'd distorted their words. I await feedback from the other interviewees.

For the record, I have not sent discs to the following interviewees:

• Lutz Bergerman/Bergman
• Sasha Ritter
• A dude called Conrad
• An un-named student

These were un-arranged, man-on-the-street, vox-pop interviews. We did quite of few of them but these four people made it into the final cut. I would like to offer these people chance to 'approve' their interviews but unlike the other interviewees, they only gave verbal permission to being filmed. This means they didn't fill in the full release form - therefore, no contact details.

Work is still being done to re-design the website and there's also a poster design in the pipeline to fulfil any future screenings.

The next stage

Over the last week or so I have dispatched around 20 rough cut preview
discs of My DDR T-Shirt. These were mainly sent to the people I actually
interviewed. For me, this is the first stage of the process. As these
people gave their time and discussed their experiences for my benefit, I
owe them (at the very least) the chance to see the film before others.

Here's an update on some other plans:

1. As promised many months ago, I intend to organise a very low-key My
DDR T-Shirt 'premiere' in Withington. I hope to have a date for this
soon. I am also looking at other venues for similar 'events' but will be
trying to avoid screenings in empty rooms. If you know of a suitable
venue, please let me know.

2. Now that the film is ready, we are looking at other ways to get My
DDR T-Shirt screened. A list of potentially suitable film festivals in
the UK and mainland Europe has been drawn up. I expect to spend lots of
time in Post Office queues over the next few months.

3. As we start to pro-actively promote the film, we'll need a new
website. We need something new and fresh with a consistent look and feel
for the project. We also need to look into streaming technology and
other methods to get the film 'out there'.

4. A variety of audio and visual tweaks have taken place since these
first rough cut preview discs were made. Around 30 seconds has been
trimmed away and some project file export problems have been solved.

If you'd like to see one of these preview DVD-Rs, email
info@ianhawkins.co.uk.

Finished!!

Right now, I am sitting at my computer printing labels onto DVD-Rs. The labels say:

"My DDR T-Shirt - Rough cut preview copy"

I am in the process of sending these discs to the people who appear in the film - and anyone else who might be interested. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that the film is essentially finished. It'll need a tweak here and a little adjustment there but I suppose this will always be the case. What is really required now is to get people to watch it and revamp the website.

All this starts in earnest as of now. But for the time being, the biggest single creative project of my life is done. I have a stack of 15 or so discs and this means I have a product.

Email me if you'd like to have one of these limited edition rough cut previews.

Passing milestones

Woohoo! Last night, I sat down with my girlfriend and watched the first full edit of My DDR T-Shirt.

It's a rough cut with lots still to do. Even so, it's a hugely significant milestone with a great sense of relief, reward and achievement. My DDR T-Shirt currently lasts 56 minutes and has stretched our resources, expertise and patience to the limit. To remind you, the last Hawkinsian Production was 13 minutes long and featured just one interviewee. It's a big deal for everyone down at Hawkinsian Productions and best of all, the film itself is looking pretty good.

You may get a sense of the celebratory mood here at the Institute but here are the next steps:

1. It is estimated that it'll take another month or two for the film to be properly finished. Soundtrack, credits, tweaks, re-edits will be required.

2. Hawkinsian staff have already started to contact interviewees for feedback. This is an important process, although we reserve editorial control we would never want to distort anyone's words. Asking for interviewee feedback is our way to check the balance of the project. Problems may occur if, in the three years it has taken to get to this stage, contact details of these interviewees have changed.

If you have been interviewed for My DDR T-Shirt and have changed your contact details, please let me know.

3. After that, who knows? Watch this space for updates and contact us if you have any questions.

Nearly there?

From a My DDR T-Shirt point of view, yesterday (Sunday 24th February) was a really good day. Virtually the whole day was given to the project (for the first time in ages) and lots of progress was made. It is estimated that the first rough cut of My DDR T-Shirt is only a handful of evenings away.

As I have hinted previously, the rough cut is a gateway to a new round of editing, re-editing, soundtracking and voice over recording. In other words, lots to do.

However, this update is really meant to mark the progress towards that first rough cut. Remember, this project was conceived three years ago and it has been blighted by delays and set backs. The first test was whether the whole DDR T-Shirt idea had legs, the second whether a filming trip to Berlin could be funded, the third whether I could find enough interesting people, the fourth whether I could conduct and film good interviews. All these tests have been passed but one of the toughest tests has been to manage these voices and complicated issues with the limited editing skills and resources available.

The biggest project so far for Hawkinsian Productions was a documentary called Our Man in Harrogate. It had a cast of one (me) and was 13 minutes long. The jump from short films to a full length documentary has been a daunting and fascinating foray into the unknown - and an enormous challenge.

That's where we are now. At around 50 minutes, the first cut is nearly done and it's fantastic to be able to say it.

The home straight

Things are going very well with My DDR T-Shirt. The edited timeline is now up to around 45 minutes. The narrative is loosely separated into chapters and only one chapter remains to be edited. After that, the basic structure is complete and a new round of audio tweaking and edit smoothing commences. There’ll also be some test screenings and viewings to get feedback from trusted sources.

So, we are now on the home straight, nearly three years after starting the project. If you’ve been keeping up to date with this project, thank you for your patience.

On another note, there are all kinds of issues that emerge when making a film about this subject. Thinking about these issues is what caught my imagination in the first place. One of the biggies on the list is the subject of freedom. What does it mean to be free? Who is free? What is freedom? As ever, I don’t claim to have any answers but in my usual ruminative way, I have decided that these questions and issues may form a neat cross-over between this and my other blog.

To see what I'm blathering on about take a look at The Hawkinsian Institute blog...

Vive la Resolution!

If my New Year's resolutions are anything to go by, 2008 will be a good year for My DDR T-Shirt. I have identified a handful of what I hope will be achievable targets for the project. In stating them here, I'm trying to put my money where my mouth is.

By this time next year, I hope to:

1. Finish the film (and be happy with it)
2. Organise a 'première' screening somewhere in Manchester
3. Have the film screened by someone other than myself

Simple, huh? Let's see.

I have been able to use some time over Christmas for editing. The project has now broken the 30 minute mark (33 mins). Quite an achievement in itself, but not the only benchmark. The main thing was to catch up with the narrative thread - I think I succeeded with this and hope to march on with things from now on.

This is a longshot, but if anybody reading this has any footage or photographs of East Berlin prior to 1989, I’d be interested to hear from you. Even dull street scenes would help, with parked Trabbis etc. If you can help, please get in touch.